Flashback Five – Robert Zemeckis’s Best Movies

Posted by Stacy Black

7 years ago

Director Robert Zemeckis first made his mark in 1985, with the blockbuster Back to the Future, combining dazzling special effects with good old-fashioned storytelling. Since then, the ability to expertly weave the latest technology into a heartfelt tale has become the director’s trademark. (Not surprising, considering he’s Spielberg’s BFF.) In Zemeckis’s recent Beowulf and Christmas Carol, the line between live action and animation continues to blur. So without further ado, let’s take a look back at Robert Zemeckis’s best movies.

1. Back to the Future (1985)Zemeckis’s tale of time travel is refreshingly tongue-in-cheek as it explores how history repeats itself and why your parents turned out the way they did. For introducing Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), and the flux capacitor to the world, Back to Future clinches first place, hitting the finish line at a winning 88 miles per hour.

3. Forrest Gump (1994)This Best Picture winner may bring lines like “Life is like a box of chocolates” and “Run, Forrest, run” to mind, but it’s more than just a collection of memorable catchphrases. For boomers like Zemeckis, it’s a bittersweet journey through the tumultuous events of their generation — the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal — and it shows how they emerged with some of their innocence intact.

4. Back to the Future Part II (1989)This sequel provides a fun glimpse into the kind of future everyone loves to imagine — and one that Zemeckis is a pro at depicting — with flying skateboards, shiny fashion, and lots of holograms. The year: 2015. Nevertheless, the story is a treat for temporal-paradox lovers: alternate times converge, forcing Marty McFly back to the events of the first film.

5. The Polar Express (2004)It’s all aboard to the North Pole in this magical adaptation of the popular children’s book. Christmas is brought to life with startling performance-capture animation that repurposes Tom Hanks in multiple roles. With Zemeckis’s meticulous renderings of Santa’s workshop and a team of faithful reindeer, The Polar Express is liable to turn adults into believers again.